Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya´alon on Saturday expressed his support
for Netanyahu´s decision to set up a unity government, and also came
out against an Israeli attack on Iran over its nuclear program.

Speaking at a cultural event in the Israeli city of Nes Tziona,
Ya´alon said, "Events of this kind certainly are not encouragement
for some people to be involved in politics, or even vote."

"Because when politicians zig-zag, and a word is no longer a word and
a declaration not a declaration, this impairs the public´s trust," he
added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition chairman MK Shaul
Mofaz (Kadima) reached a surprise agreement early Tuesday morning to
form a national unity government. The move came as the Knesset was
preparing to disperse for early elections, which were expected to be
scheduled for September 4.

Ya´alon, a former IDF Chief of Staff, also spoke out against a
unilateral Israel attack against Iran´s nuclear facilities at the
event on Saturday.

"As someone who has experienced wars, a military move against Iran
must be the option of last resort… All other options must be
exhausted first," said Ya’alon.

He also hinted that if an attack on Iran became necessary, Israel
should not be the one to lead it. "If all of that doesn´t help,
perhaps someone will need to initiate a military move against Iran,"
he said.

Asked about his position regarding same-sex marriage in Israel,
Ya´alon said he supports every person´s right to choose regarding
relationships. "It´s not about having a ceremony or not," he
said. "We must be a society that is tolerant of the choices of every
one of our people."

On Saturday, Kadima MK Orit Zuaretz also criticized the deal that led
to Israel’s unity government. On her Facebook page, Zuaretz described
Mofaz´s agreement with Netanyahu as the "auctioning off of 28 MKs and
90,000 Kadima members to Netanyahu."

Meanwhile, Industry and Trade Minister Shalom Simhon (Atzmaut) said
on Saturday that Tzipi Livni´s loss to Shaul Mofaz as Kadima chief
was the event which made the unity government possible.

According to Simhon, Livni was under the influence of people that
left the Knesset, and did not allow herself to join the government,
promising her that a “new political big bang,” was on its way.

“As soon as Tzipi resigned, the new arrangement was possible, as
[Defense Minister Ehud] Barak has much better relations with Mofaz
than he does with Livni,” said Simhon.